9GOATS BLACK OUT at Shimokitazawa MOSAiC

The rather small Shimokitazawa MOSAiC was filled with a diverse crowd who came to see two very different bands from Niigata play, the tickets for the live having sold out within a couple of days. The hall was very bright with one simply planned room, the walls painted in white, unusual for a gig featuring a band with such a dark atmosphere as 9GOATS BLACK OUT, which made it even more interesting to watch.

There was no curtain so when the hall went dark and the usual beautiful classical SE was played, the empty stage, filled with red light, was exposed. Slowly, first the support members and then utA and hati appeared without excessive gestures. As the audience stayed silent, finally ryo walked out onto the stage slowly, and raised his arms in a dramatic silent greeting.

The live started with Sink and an atmosphere of calm and simplicity, with a bare minimum of movement seen on the blue-lit stage. As four of the members remained almost static, concentrating on playing their instruments and occasionally singing along, the quiet crowd's attention was focused on ryo with his eccentric gestures and changing facial expressions. As in all live performances of the band, Sink sounded different from the recorded version, as ryo tends to add some extra lines towards the end of the song. Next came 690min with a more aggressive mood to it, and as the members came forward, danced and screamed into their microphones, the audience head banged fiercely. After that was the more quiet nocturne, which was not a surprise as the band seems to like the three first songs to follow this pattern. utA seemed to be more artistic than usual and together with ryo, who moved across the stage between him and hati, they performed a bit of a pantomime.

ryo then broke the silence of the hall when he screamed for the audience, who responded by raising their arms and shouting the members' names loudly. He did a longer MC than usual, introducing the band and asking everyone to have fun, and it seemed that although he wasn't a skillful talker, he enjoyed being a bit more intimate with the audience. For the start of raw distorted sounds filled the hall as ryo crawled out of the mist and grabbed the microphone stand, his breath wheezing, while the rest of the band became almost static again, only utA performing a twisted dance with his arms once in a while. hati's intense bass lines were almost physically tangible and intense, contrasting with ryo's put on frail, trembling voice. For Lestat the atmosphere changed, as ryo crawled around the stage madly singing and screaming, creeping up to the other members, touching and stroking them with a deranged look on his face, and the others, especially utA, played along dramatically. The audience also woke up from their trance, the front rows head banging violently to the chaotic sound of the song. Following was ROMEO, a yet unreleased but memorable song, that started quietly with simple drumming and ryo singing in an almost rapping fashion. During the bridge akaya stood out especially, singing almost half of the lines in a high-pitched voice, as ryo sat down near the edge of the stage, licking his fingers and gazing into the distance as if looking out at someone invisible.

ryo thanked the audience, who clapped in response, and the members moved towards the back of the stage for a break as atmospheric piano music continued playing. When the members came back to the front, ryo talked about the beauty of the eyes watching in the audience that night, and said that he wanted to sing them a song about beautiful snow make up, after which Sleeping beauty started. He threw down his mask of insanity, sinking to his knees singing simply and touchingly to the soft filigree melodies of this beautiful song, leaving the silent audience hypnotized. Following was in the rain, another unreleased song which has been played frequently for a long time and is one of the audience's favorites. As the tone of the melodic song varied, the stage became dark and filled with light again. ryo put the microphone cord around his neck, then came forward and sang to the audience intimately, looking into their eyes carefully, and utA sang along in a soft, pleasant voice. float started quietly, with almost whispering vocals, and the audience remained silent. As ryo's voice grew stronger and he started urging them to move, many people raised their hands, to which the vocalist responded with an insane smile on his expressive face. As ryo greeted the hall and utA came forwards, raising his arms in a provocative gesture, the whole audience shook their fists and screamed at the top of their voices. The warmed up fans were ready for some head banging and even a bit of moshing for headache, an aggressive song with uneven rhythms and contrasting melodies, with an old-school touch in its sound. As the serious hati concentrated on his bass line, it was amusing to see ryo pat him on the head playfully.

As the set finished, smiling widely the band bid farewell to the crowd, which first clapped, but as ryo blew them a kiss they let themselves go, screaming wildly. As the band left the stage, their ending SE continued playing, and the magic created by the band left a pleasant and lasting aftertaste.

Some fans could be seen leaving but most stayed behind to watch the performance of Dummy's Corporation. The band had a very different, "happy" electronic sound, but they put on a very enjoyable positive show. The fans who stayed behind made the right choice - as Dummy's Corporation went out for the encore, they suddenly called ryo onto the stage. He came out in casual clothes without make up and talked to Kazutoshi Yokoyama, the keyboardist of the other band. Acting a bit shy, he seemed completely different from the confident front man with demonic appearance that he was just an hour before. The two bands share the same roots - the members come from Niigata and knew each other before they made it big in the capital. They took some time to joke, then encouraged the audience to call utA, who also came out in off-stage clothes.

Then the four piece Dummy Goats performed salient soul, an original song written specifically for this session band, which surprisingly has a sound that's not as strange as expected. Offering a dark atmosphere attributed to the presence of the Goats part of the band, it also has a lot of electronic sounds from the Dummy component. ryo's soft vocals sounded very authentic coupled with the distorted electronic sound of Yokoyama's voice. While utA made dramatic poses, ryo proceeded to act just as insanely as he usually does, which, considering he wasn't wearing a costume or make up, looked quite amusing. After the song finished, hati and Hitoki, the bassist of Dummy's corporation came out, and the bands discussed their origins and joked more, the audience taking part in their interaction, before they went on to perform another collaboration. This time it was a cover of KICK IT OUT by Boom Boom Satellites which has a heavier upbeat sound, to which ryo danced madly all over the stage, flirting with Hitoki, and all the members rocked the hall hard with smiles on their faces. On this positive note, Dummy Goats bid farewell to the screaming crowd, waving and thanking them, leaving behind a hall full of excited chatter.

Lately 9GOATS BLACK OUT lives have been changing, the band breaking their silence, growing closer to the audience, interacting with them and moving around more on stage. While this has made their show lose some of its enchantment and magic, it has also created a more intimate atmosphere, making the fans feel a connection with the band rather than being mere spectators. In any case, 9GOATS BLACK OUT are not a simple band, but rather artists that create an amazing show with their strong music, powerful stage presence and mesmerizing atmosphere, leaving a lasting impression on every member of the audience.


Set List:

01. sink
02. 690min
03. yasou-nocturne-

04. raw
05. Lestat
06. ROMEO

07. Sleeping Beauty
08. in the rain
09. float
10. headache

Session:
01. salient soul (Dummy Goats original song)
02. KICK IT OUT (Boom Boom Satellites)